Weather seal construction



F. F. BEIL March 28, 1944.

Filed April 9, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR. EYT$ZF5LQ March 28, 1944. F. F. BEIL HER SEAL CONSTRUCTION '2 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1941 I v INVENTOR.

fir'rafi f 58% fim E a Patented Mar. 28, 1944 UNITED STATES I, PATENT ore-1 WEATHER SEAL CONSTRUCTION Forrest F. Beil, Clinton, Iowa, assignor to Curtis Companies Incorporated, Clinton, Iowa, a corporation of Iowa Application April 9, 1941, ser al No. 387,598

6 Claims. ('01. 20-69) In certain types of window construction it has the space between the window stool and the rib on the sill may collect dirt, and is somewhat difficult to clean out. Furthermore, the rib constitutes a dam, backing up water which collects at the bottom of the sash.

It is well known that in the colder parts of the country, if storm windows are not used, there may at times be a substantial accumulation of condensed moisture on the inside of the window, which runs down over the bottom rail, and into the space between the bottom rail and the window stool. Where the rib type of weather strip previously described is used, this water is dammed up to a relatively high level, thus being retained for some time. Two undesirable results sometimes follow: the water may leak out between the stool and the sill and run down over the plaster inside, often staining it; or in any event, the retention of water tends to promote decay of the bottom rail and the adjacent parts of the sill and stool.

It is highly desirable, therefore, to provide a weather seal construction which will eliminate these disadvantages.

An object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a weather seal which will be fully efiective for preventing infiltration of air through the joint between the sill and the bottom rail of the lower sash.

Another object is to provide a seal having the characteristics just described, which will not dam up water which may collect from condensaticn on the window.

A related object is to provide a construction which will not tend to accumulate dirt and become unsightiy, and which may be easily cleaned.

A further object is to provide a weather seal which can be manufactured economically and installed with ease.

.With these and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

" .a construction the same as in Figure l, but with window sill, stool and bottom sash rail, showing the preferred form in which my invention may be embodied.

Figure 2 is a similar View showing a modifie form.

Figure 3 is a perspective view, partly in vertical section, showing the form of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 1, showing a second modified form.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a sloping top to the Weatherstrip portion.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 1, showing a form of the invention in which the stop strip and sealing leaf are combined in a unitary metal member.

Figure '7 is a view similar to Figure 6, showing a modified form of unitary metal member.

Figure 8 is a perspective View, partly in vertical section showing the form of Figure 7.

In the accompanying drawings I have used the reference numeral It! to designate a window sill. The window stool l2 and the bottom rail IA of the lower sash may be spaced somewhat, as at It, in the manner made possible by the type of window construction shown in Patent No. 1,869,760. The inside lower corner of the rail I4 is rabbeted, as at Hi, to make room for the stop 29 and the weather strip 22.

Figures 1 and 3 represent the form which is preferred when this type of weather seal is made at the factory. The stop 20 is received in a groove 24 in the sill l0. Nails 26 are driven through the top of the weather strip 22, through the stop 20, and into the sill It], thus retaining all the members in proper position. 1

The weather strip 22 consists of a channelshaped length of some thin, springy, corrosionresistant metal, such as bronze or nickel silver. One leg 28 of the channel extends down behind the stop 20, and the stool I2 is abutted against it in installation. The web 30 of the channel extends across the top of the stop 28, and the nails 26 are driven through it. The .outer leg 32 of the channel is formed to constitute a spring leaf which will yieldingly engage the inner surface of the rabbet IS in the sash rail it. In order that the surface-of the rabbet may pass smoothly over the spring leaf in either direction, the leaf is provided with a rounded nose portion 34, the extreme outer surface of this rounded portion extending beyond any other part of the channel, in a horizontal direction, a seen in the cross sections of Figures 1 and 2. The channel Figure 1 .is a vertical cross sectional view of a strip may further be provided with a return bend 36 at its free edge, which stiffens this edge somewhat against longitudinal bending.

In Figure 2 I show a modified form which is more suitable in cases where the weather seal is to be applied in an existing window installation, where it would be impractical to make a groove such as 24 in the sill. The stop strip 20a is merely applied to the top of the sill, in the corner adjacent the stool l2. Just as in the preferred form, nails may be driven through the metal strip and the stop into the sill to keep the parts in position.

The side of the rabbet I8 need not be perfectly vertical, but may be inclined, as shown in Figures 2 and 16. This form of rabbet, in fact, has some advantages in that it conforms more nearly to the overall shape represented by the web 30 and the spring leaf 32 of the metal strip. In order to serve its purpose as a spring strip, the leaf 32 must be inclined somewhat outwardly away from the stop toward its bottom end, and the inclined side of the rabbet conforms in general to the inclination of the spring leaf.

Drainage and cleaning may be somewhat facilitated if the top of the weather seal assembly is made sloping, corresponding generally to the slope of the sill, as indicated in Figures and 7. The top of the rabbet 18 may be inclined to match.

The form of the strip 22 may be varied, and as one modification, the leg 23 may be omitted. In this case the top web 30 may be made somewhat wider than the top of the stop 20, the edge being received in a saw kerf in the stool l2, as shown in Figure 4. It will be noted that the construction of Figure 4 is well adapted to being made by forming the stop 20 as an integral part of the stool l2.

Figures 6, 7 and 8 show modified forms of my invention in which the stop 20 and Weatherstrip 22 of the other figures are combined in a single unitary folded metal strip, designated as 38 in Figure 6, and as 38a in Figures 7 and 8. The strips 38 and 38a have a leg 28, a top web 30, and an outer spring leaf leg 32 with a rounded nose portion 34 and return bent edge 35, just as in the forms previously described. The leg 28, however, is continued as a bottom web 40 and a vertical portion 42, giving the strips a generally tubular shape, so that the leaf 32 is supported in proper position when nails are driven through the strips, as indicated in the drawings.

In the form of Figures '7 and 8 the vertical portion 42 is continued as a reversely bent portion 44 and an apron 4'5 extending under the leaf 32. This form is perhaps more complex to make, but is more rugged than that shown in Figure 6.

The type of weather seal in the various forms described can be applied to a window by extremely simple operations, and at very low cost. It does not demand accurate placement of the sash in a horizontal direction as viewed in Figures 1 and 2, because the spring leaf 32 will-accommodate substantial variations in this direction, still giving a tight seal.

Probably the most important advantage, however, resides in the fact that moisture runnin down between the rail i4 and the stool i2 will not be dammed up in such a way as to cause it to run under the stool and down the plaster wall. The fit between the inner face of the rabbet l8 and the round nose portion 34 of the spring leaf is never perfect, of course, so that water can leak out as it collects, rather than being backed up or dammed up as has sometimes occurred in the structures referred to in the prior patents.

Entirely aside from the moisture problem, it should be noted also that my structure has no exposed channel in which dirt and dust may collect and become unsightly, as in the old type structure.

On the contrary, I provide a concealed trap which stops the passage of air-borne dirt from outside the window to the inside. When the window is closed, the space between the leaf 32 and the adjacent side of the stop 20, or between the leaf 32 and the portions 42 or 44, represents a trap which catches dirt or moisture that may work in from the outside, thus stopping it at a place where it can do no damage to interior treatment or finish. The problem of water from the outside is an important one in locations where snow may collect on the outer sill, melt, and run under the lower sash. This problem, too, is met by the trap arrangement described.

It will be seen, therefore, that I have provided a structure that is easily cleaned, which prevents the damming up of moisture from inside the window, and traps dirt and water from outside the window before they filter in to a point where damage would be done.

As a test of the comparative infiltration characteristics of the weather seal construction described in this application and that of the old form disclosed in the patents above referred to, windows made up in each style were tested in a wind tunnel with all leakage points other than the bottom rail-sill joint sealed off. In a wind velocity of 25 miles per hour, it was found that the old type construction--a high grade standard commercial window made by my assignees herein-had a leakage of 168.5 cubic feet per hour per lineal foot of sash width. In the window embodying my invention herein, however, the leakage was found to be 63.2 cubic feet per hour per lineal foot of sash width-less than 38 per cent of the value for the old type. Needless to say,

' these tests indicate that a very substantia1 saving in fuel consumption can be realized where my invention is employed in equipping the windows.

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claims any modified forms of structure, or use of mechanical equivalents, which may be reasonably included within their scope.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a window having a sill, a sliding sash, and a stool, a stop member inset in a groove extending longitudinally of said sill, and a channelshaped strip of spring metal, one leg of said channel extending down between the inside edge of said stop member and the stool, the web of said channel extending across the top of said stop member, and the other leg of said channel extending outwardly and downwardly, and having an outwardly projecting rounded nose portion, the lower rail of said sash having a groove cut in the lower inside edge thereof to receive said stop, and the rounded nose portion being engageable with the wall of said groove.

2. In a weather seal joint for a window, a sill, a stop member extending along said sill, a spring metal channel extending across the top of said stop member and down the sides thereof, the outer leaf of said channel extending outwardly from said stop member, a stool abutted against the inside edge of said stop, and a sash having a lower rail rabbeted out to receive said stop and channel when the window is closed.

3. In a window construction, a weather seal joint constituted by the cooperation of a bottom sash rail having a rabbet in the lower inside edge thereof, a stop member extending longitudinally of the sill adjacent the window stool, a channelshaped spring strip embracing the top of said stop, fastening means extending through said channel into said stop, and one leaf of said channel extending downwardly and outwardly on the outer side of said stop, said leaf having a return bent edge and an outwardly projecting rounded nose portion adjacent said edge, said rounded nose portion coasting with the vertical side of said rabbet when the windowis closed.

4. In a Weatherstrip construction for a window sill having a stool, a stop member extending longitudinally of the sill adjacent the stool, the top of said stop member being below the top surface of the stool, and being sloped outwardly like the sill, a spring member fastened to the top of said stop member and having a leaf extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom, and fastening means extending through said spring member and said stop member into said sill.

5. In a window having a sill, a sliding sash, and a stool, a sealing construction consisting of supporting means mounted on the sill adjacent the stool, and a spring metal leaf attached to said supporting means and extending outwardly and downwardly therefrom and from the stool at such an angle as to shed water, the sash having a rabbet cut in the lower edge thereof, and the spring metal leaf being resiliently engageable with the side of said rabbet, and the space between said leaf and said supporting means forming a downwardly opening cul-de-sac catching foreign matter which may work in from the outside between said sash and the sill.

6. For a window having a sill, a sliding sash and a stool, the weather seal construction consisting of a stop member inset in a groove extending longitudinally of said sill, a channelshaped strip of spring metal, one leg of said channel extending down between the inside edge of said stop member and the stool, the stool abutting against said leg and concealing it, the web of said channel extending across the top of said stop member, and the other leg of said channel extending downwardly and outwardly on the outer side of said stop, and having an outwardly projecting rounded nose portion engageable with the wall of a rabbet cut in the lower inside edge of the sash, the space between said other leg and said stop member forming a downwardly opening trap, and fastening means extending through said channel member and said stop member into said 30 sill.

FORREST F. BEIL. 

